Love Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
by Cormag Ravenstaff
Summary: Claude von Riegan is a dangerous man.


He had an answer to her every question.

And they were _right._

Byleth hadn't pegged Claude as the smart kid. Sure, the kid was brilliant in his own way, but Byleth never suspected that he actually did homework. As much as Lysithea studied, Byleth had a feeling that Claude's outmatched hers.

He stayed after class, asking questions about the material and her. That last part wasn't lost on her. She might be the Ashen Demon, but she wasn't the Ashen Idiot.

Her student had a crush on her. He was eager to please and interested. Two qualities that weren't inherently bad.

It wouldn't have bothered Byleth if he didn't have that smile.

That smile kept Byleth up at night, seeing it and a wink every time she closed her eyes. She'd groan into her pillow, bemoaning of ethics.

She just had to have a soft spot for a student, didn't she? She just had to go get a crush on the house leader, didn't she?

Good job, By. Good job.

Why hadn't she picked Dimitri? Or Edelgard? Neither of them were nearly as flirty. If they had crushes on her, they'd have the tact to not chase them.

But Claude?

Well, he was a dangerous man, wasn't he?

* * *

She watched him petting cats from afar. The Monastery was full of them, not that Byleth minded. Seteth did, but there wasn't anything he could do.

Claude was gentle with them. He'd only pick them up if they acquiesced. Several of them were repeat customers to his care and he knew every spot they liked to be scratched.

Just like in class, there was an attention to detail that Byleth admired. Claude paid attention and she always rewarded him for it. Sometimes it was letting down the barrier between teacher and student, sometimes it was getting a meal in the dining hall.

She'd admit that those things were for her benefit too. Unfortunately, her crush had done the opposite of vanish. It had blossomed and Byleth feared that she edged towards thoughts of love.

Why, oh goddess why, did she have to be so close in age to him? Why did she have to be a professor when one student was even older than her?

Manuela had even picked up on her lingering eyes. Of course, she always was looking for them. Byleth was hounded after a class period a few days ago and interrogated by the songstress. She'd demanded details and Byleth didn't have them.

She didn't know what this meant. It just was. She just liked Claude as more than a student. As more than a friend, too.

The handsome devil himself looked up at her. He gestured with his head that she come and join him and the cats. There were at least seven gathered around him and he mimed a plea for help he didn't need.

Byleth smiled. She did that a lot more since meeting Claude. Her feet were taking her over to him before her mind realized it.

Or maybe it was her heart that brought her closer.

* * *

He was in the dining hall at odd hours. The war kept them all busy, but Claude was the busiest of all. He took work of Byleth's and Seteth's plates to help them with little regard to himself.

She'd had words about that with him. It tore her apart to see the man she loved weary and hardly able to function most days underneath that charming grin.

Yes, love. Byleth loved the scion of Reigan. Though he was Sovereign Duke now, not a scion anymore. Sometimes Byleth forgot that. She just saw her Deer and wanted to protect him.

She sat down across from him, wordlessly tearing into her food. He never had time to eat at normal hours and would take advantage of an empty dining hall for the sake of the quiet at the end of the day.

As soon as she had figured that out, Byleth had reoriented her schedule to have meals with him. She could tell he enjoyed it.

As she sat down, he winked and launched into something about the war. Byleth paid attention, lost in his voice. It was hard to pay attention in strategy meetings when their leader sounded like he did. Or maybe that was just Byleth's own problem.

He told her she should be getting more sleep. She threw the same sentiment back. They both said they would, knowing the other would ignore it.

But they smiled, knowing they each cared.

* * *

She was a good shot now.

He'd been teaching her to shoot for a while now, something they'd found Byleth had a knack for. She'd never be Claude, but she was hitting the dead center often now.

Claude had been the one to suggest she learn as a precaution, in case her magic and sword failed her. For him, backup plans to the backup plans were important. She agreed and didn't deny how much she liked him close to her, helping her aim.

Bittersweet was the day that she hit bullseyes consistently, as he stopped guiding her closely. He looked upset about that too. But still he came to her training sessions to give tips, one of the few moments out of his day that he didn't work.

Byleth was too selfish to tell him to take time for himself. She enjoyed the banter they had, free of obligations and meetings and Seteth and the war.

It felt like when he'd hang around after class and flirt with her, an impossible dream then. But after her coma, things were different. Things could be different.

But they had a war that needed to be won. A land that needed to be safe. Walls that needed to be knocked down.

And she looked right at the man who would do that. The most driven man she'd ever met.

He'd tell her the same things, if she asked. But she didn't need to. The way Claude felt towards her was as obvious as the way she felt towards him.

It was an open unspoken secret, one of the most dangerous kinds.

But they reveled in it.

* * *

He found her in the Goddess Tower. She'd come to look at the stars after the battle.

Byleth was bandaged, much like Claude was. Both of them were hurting after cutting their way to Nemesis. Seteth had forced them to take the night to recover before repairing a nation.

It seemed they both had the same idea of what to do with that night.

He sat next to her, looking up into the endless sky. A wide world above theirs, domain of Sothis and whatever else. Byleth ought to know, but she didn't. She knew its beauty, however.

They passed the time with whispers amongst the stars. Assurances that they were each okay and had lived through it all.

Byleth felt happy.

As the seconds, minutes, hours drew on, they pressed against each other. Claude wrapped a bandaged hand around her delicately and she leaned into his shoulder, trying not to aggravate wounds.

It took a while for their conversation to turn towards that secret they had and hadn't been keeping, but when it did, Byleth had only one thing to say.

"Yes."

He slipped the ring on her finger and she slipped the one her father had left her on his. He quirked an eyebrow and a grin and told her how he knew what that meant to her.

She didn't answer and pulled him tighter, refusing to let go.

He laughed, oh goddess what a lovely sound, and didn't resist. He was hers and they both knew that. They'd been picking each other ever since she chose his house five years ago.

They watched the stars, officially a pair. Some things had changed with those words exchanged, but things were also the same.

They were together, as they always had been and always would be.

* * *

**Author Notes: Tried out a different style for this thing. No idea if it worked, but it was fun for a change of pace!**

**I have a website now for writing advice! The link is on my profile!**


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